After the fun we had watching In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play at the Heath Ledger Theatre a few days ago, we eagerly returned to the State Theatre Centre of WA – this time to watch Xenides at the Studio Underground.

As we waited for the performance to start, we were greeted with a glitzy background set straight out of the popular TV game show The Wheel of Fortune.

The play is about the life of Adriana Xenides – the game show co-host of The Wheel of Fortune. An iconic figure for many Australian families as they watched the box each night, she lays claim in the Guinness Book of Records for being the longest running TV show game hostess, with an 18 year run.

With a title like In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Black Swan State Theatre Company had eschewed their usual polished productions in favour of the crude, rude, and lewd.

You would, of course, be greatly mistaken.

While the play is powered by Dr Givings' new method of treating hysteria in Victorian England (the electrical vibrator), it is the interactions between the cast that provide the friction, tension and satisfying release for the audience.

Once again Black Swan State Theatre Company have put together a stunning and innovative set that allows the audience an intimate peek into Dr Givings' operating theatre (the Next Room of the title) as the backdrop to his wife Catherine's family parlour, without the need for jarring scene changes.

Less than a week away, the British Film Festival will grace our screens in Perth from the 25th October to the 14th November.

It will feature films spanning a variety of genres and times – from the Swinging 60’s to modern days - including those paying tribute to film legend Michael Caine, war movies, and family classics such as Paddington Bear and Mary Poppins.

Our top 5 movie picks from this year’s #BritishFilmFest are:

Colette will premiere at the Opening Night of the #BritishFilmFest. At the dawn of the feminist age, Colette tells the story of twentieth century writer who is swept into the world of high society when she arrives from the countryside betrothed to literary entrepreneur Henry Gauthier-Willars.

The opening of the 2018 MINI British Film Festival in Perth is just around the corner, and a plethora of excellent films await movie goers, including the documentary “My Generation”.

Narrated by Michael Caine, My Generation takes us on a nostalgic journey through the Swinging 60’s. It was a period of decadence and “sex, drugs and rock and roll” as the young generation enjoyed the heady days of music and fashion to excess – think Beatles mania, Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, and fashion icons such as Twiggy and fashion designer Mary Quant.